Bill Text: IA HF2370 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act requiring the director of the department of education to establish a low-income student and poverty weighting work group. (See HF 2490.)
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-19 - Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 309. [HF2370 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2019-HF2370-Introduced.html
House
File
2370
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2370
BY
MATSON
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
requiring
the
director
of
the
department
of
education
to
1
establish
a
low-income
student
and
poverty
weighting
work
2
group.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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Section
1.
POVERTY
WEIGHTING
WORK
GROUP.
1
1.
School
funding
has
grown
increasingly
inequitable
as
2
it
relates
to
supporting
socioeconomically
disadvantaged
3
students.
In
order
to
meet
the
needs
of
such
students
and
4
to
ensure
access
to
the
same
opportunities
that
economically
5
advantaged
school
districts
offer,
school
districts
with
higher
6
percentages
of
students
in
poverty
spend
more
per
pupil
to
7
cover
the
cost
of
the
students’
increased
needs
as
compared
8
to
economically
advantaged
school
districts.
Children
from
9
economically
disadvantaged
homes
often
enter
school
with
a
10
more
limited
vocabulary
and
fewer
educational
life
experiences
11
than
those
from
economically
advantaged
homes.
According
12
to
the
child
and
family
policy
center,
children
living
in
13
poverty
are
more
likely
than
their
peers
to
experience
stress
14
and
deprivation
that
hinders
development
and
readiness
for
15
school
and
life.
Significant
levels
of
poverty
exist
in
16
all
ninety-nine
counties
of
this
state
and,
therefore,
the
17
general
assembly
should
consider
additional
ways
to
close
the
18
opportunity
gap
within
the
funding
formula.
19
2.
According
to
the
2018
condition
of
education
annual
20
report,
forty
and
one-half
percent
of
Iowa
students
are
21
eligible
for
free
and
reduced
price
meals
under
the
federal
22
National
School
Lunch
Act
and
the
federal
Child
Nutrition
Act
23
of
1966,
42
U.S.C.
§1751-1785,
the
most
widely
used
measure
24
of
student
poverty,
including
within
Iowa’s
methodology
for
25
funding
at-risk
and
dropout
prevention
programs.
26
3.
The
school
finance
formula
review
committee
established
27
under
section
257.1,
subsection
4,
met
on
December
13,
2019,
28
and
recommended
to
the
general
assembly
the
creation
of
a
29
poverty
weighting
study
committee.
30
4.
The
director
of
the
department
of
education
shall
31
establish
and
appoint
members
to
a
work
group
to
examine
Iowa’s
32
current
methodology
for
determining
levels
of
student
poverty
33
and
alternative
methodologies
available,
including
examination
34
of
relevant
studies
and
testimony
of
relevant
experts,
35
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determine
if
the
current
methodology
effectively
measures
1
the
needs
of
low-income
students,
and
make
recommendations
2
for
funding
methodologies
to
provide
additional
funding
to
3
school
districts
for
students
from
low-income
households.
The
4
department
of
education
shall
work
cooperatively
to
provide
5
staffing
assistance
for
the
work
group.
The
work
group
shall
6
be
composed
of
at
least
all
of
the
following:
7
a.
One
member
representing
the
Iowa
association
of
school
8
boards.
9
b.
One
member
representing
the
area
education
agencies.
10
c.
One
member
representing
the
Iowa
state
education
11
association.
12
d.
One
member
representing
the
school
administrators
of
13
Iowa.
14
e.
One
member
representing
the
urban
education
network
of
15
Iowa.
16
f.
One
member
representing
the
rural
school
advocates
of
17
Iowa.
18
g.
One
representative
of
the
school
district
with
the
19
highest
basic
enrollment
under
section
257.6
for
the
school
20
budget
year
beginning
July
1,
2020.
21
h.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
with
a
basic
22
enrollment
under
section
257.6
for
the
school
budget
year
23
beginning
July
1,
2020,
that
is
ranked
in
the
highest
one-third
24
among
all
school
districts
in
the
state.
25
i.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
with
a
basic
26
enrollment
under
section
257.6
for
the
school
budget
year
27
beginning
July
1,
2020,
that
is
ranked
in
the
middle
one-third
28
among
all
school
districts
in
the
state.
29
j.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
with
a
basic
30
enrollment
under
section
257.6
for
the
school
budget
year
31
beginning
July
1,
2020,
that
is
ranked
in
the
lowest
one-third
32
among
all
school
districts
in
the
state.
33
k.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
located
in
whole
34
or
in
part
less
than
one
hundred
miles
from
the
eastern
border
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of
this
state.
1
l.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
located
in
whole
2
or
in
part
more
than
one
hundred
miles
from
both
the
eastern
3
border
of
this
state
and
the
western
border
of
this
state.
4
m.
One
representative
of
a
school
district
located
in
whole
5
or
in
part
less
than
one
hundred
miles
from
the
western
border
6
of
this
state.
7
n.
Four
ex
officio,
nonvoting
legislative
members
8
consisting
of
the
following:
9
(1)
Two
state
senators,
one
appointed
by
the
majority
leader
10
of
the
senate
and
one
appointed
by
the
minority
leader
of
the
11
senate.
12
(2)
Two
state
representatives,
one
appointed
by
the
speaker
13
and
one
appointed
by
the
minority
leader
of
the
house
of
14
representatives.
15
5.
By
January
2,
2021,
the
work
group
shall
submit
16
recommendations
to
the
general
assembly
and
the
governor
for
17
new
or
modified
funding
methodologies
to
provide
additional
18
funding
for
students
from
low-income
households.
19
EXPLANATION
20
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
21
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
22
This
bill
directs
the
director
of
the
department
of
23
education
to
establish
a
work
group
to
examine
Iowa’s
current
24
methodology
for
determining
levels
of
student
poverty
and
25
alternative
methodologies
available,
including
examination
of
26
relevant
studies
and
testimony
of
relevant
experts,
determine
27
if
the
current
methodology
effectively
measures
the
needs
of
28
low-income
students,
and
make
recommendations
for
funding
29
methodologies
to
provide
additional
funding
for
students
from
30
low-income
households.
The
bill
directs
the
department
of
31
education
to
work
cooperatively
to
provide
staffing
assistance
32
for
the
work
group
and
establishes
the
minimum
persons
33
comprising
the
work
group.
By
January
2,
2021,
the
work
group
34
is
required
to
submit
recommendations
to
the
general
assembly
35
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